An Honest Review of Applewood Farmhouse From a Local

Local weighs in on one of the most popular restaurants in the Smokies

Located on the Pigeon Forge-Sevierville line, along the waters of the Little Pigeon River, sits Applewood Valley, a series of orchard-related stores, shops and restaurants with consistent themes built around the on-site orchard. In a region known for neon excess, it’s certainly a nice change of pace – charming and classic. It’s a throwback to the agricultural history of the region that manages to successfully participate in the Smokies tourism trade. One of the two main restaurants onsite is the Applewood Farmhouse. Serving homestyle classics in a large farmhouse, the Applewood sits near the top of the down-home niche in the Smokies.

Several establishments are competing for your down-home dining dollars in the Smokies. The Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant, part of the Apple Valley complex, may well be the best of the bunch.

The history of Applewood Farmhouse

In 1986, a pair of apple-orchard farming families reached out and partnered with canning giant Stokely – which has roots in the region dating back to the 1700s – on the Applewood Farmhouse. The venture was a rousing success. As a result, it has grown into the Apple Valley complex you see today with two restaurants, the Apple Cider Barn, a Christmas-themed store, a creamery and an inn at the top of the hill. Overall, the complex wouldn’t be a bad place to base your vacation. For instance, we saw people walking down from the valley to the river for some swimming, and I was sorely tempted to get out of the car and go for a plunge myself.

Today, the Farmhouse is a quaint eatery spread across several rooms. With seating overlooking the orchard, the compound or the river across the way, the setting is ideal for downhome country cooking.

What’s on the menu?

It’s exactly as you’d expect. Breakfast is heavy with farmhouse classics like pancakes, various items with gravy, omelets and skillets. Lunch and dinner are also filled with what you’d call country classics, like fried chicken, meatloaf, turkey and dressing, chicken and dumplings and more. Each meal comes with a choice of soup, side and dessert. Everyone also gets apple fritters with homemade apple butter and an Applewood Julep – which is not alcoholic. Sides include fried okra and grilled corn on the cob which was a big hit at our table.

The pros

The food is pretty much the ideal of this style of cooking. There are, of course, chains across the country that “specialize” in this kind of cooking as well as several competitors in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevier County. I’d be hard-pressed to say I’ve found anything outside of a little mom-and-pop that does country-style cooking better. The is fresh flavorful and well prepared. It’s affordable and you will get a portion size that will fill you up. Our waitress almost automatically offered to box up our included desserts just because she said most of the diners were too full to eat their dessert on the spot. By the way, in our experience the waitstaff is exceptional. They are always just super bright and friendly despite being quite busy.

The cons 

Sadly, the profit margins on down-home cooking are slim. That means there are places where the quality of ingredients will be lesser, but that’s a problem across the genre and I thought it was the least noticeable at the Farmhouse. Overall, I just don’t have a lot of cons.

Pricing and location

Most of the meals are right in the $20-$22 range, so it’s a good value for everything that is included as well as the experience of farmhouse dining. Located on 240 Apple Valley Road, the complex is located just on the Sevierville side of the Pigeon Forge city limits. The Farmhouse Restaurant is just down the road from the inn and next to the giant barn. You can’t miss it.

The Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant is a somewhat underappreciated destination in the Smokies. Located just inside the Sevierville City limits, the complex offers an impressive amount of agritourism and is an excellent family destination in the mountains.

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